Most people have heard of Botox® Cosmetic as a way to treat wrinkles on the face. It is FDA approved to treat three main areas: glabellar lines, forehead lines and crow’s feet around the eyes. However, Botox® can do more as a cosmetic treatment when it is used as an off-label treatment by qualified doctors and nurses. In this article, we’ll explain four additional ways that Botox® can be used for a beauty enhancement.
Please remember that Botox® is a temporary treatment, lasting about 3 to 4 months on average. This applies to all the treatments mentioned below. Results can vary from person to person.
The Botox® lip flip
You may know about lip fillers adding volume to the lips, but did you know Botox® can give the illusion of fuller lips?
When a practitioner injects small amounts of Botox® around the lip area (not in the lips), the muscles in this area begin to relax. This has the effect of curling the lips outward just slightly.
When the lips are curled outward, they appear fuller.
This technique can be used alongside lip filler for a more comprehensive non-surgical lip augmentation procedure.
A bonus is that this same procedure helps reduce a gummy smile. If your teeth show when you smile, Botox® can relax the muscles near your mouth so that they are not able to be raised so high.
The Botox® dimple eraser
Some people get dimples on their chin or bunny lines on their nose when they make facial expressions.
By using Botox® to relax the muscles in the areas where this happens, these dimples can be temporarily ‘erased.’
Botox® facial slimming
When Botox® is injected into the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) region, it can achieve a face slimming effect.
How does it do this?
The TMJ region has a muscle nearby, of course. As we know, when we exercise, we grow our muscles. When we don’t exercise, our muscles shrink.
People who grind their teeth, clench their jaw or chew gum tend to have a larger muscle in this area.
By injecting it with Botox®, the muscle can no longer tense and contract as much as before. This is because Botox® is a muscle paralyzer (but only temporarily).
When the TMJ muscle is not contracting, it begins to shrink. This makes the jawline and lower cheek area look slimmer.
People use this technique to achieve a ‘V line’ face shape.
Of course, it has medical uses too, since TMJ disorder (i.e. TMJD) is painful in itself.
The Botox® brow lift
Generally, droopy eyebrows can signal that a person feels tired or angry. As we age, we lose collagen and elastin in our skin. Our muscles and bones also degrade. This makes it harder for areas like our brows to stay perked up. And, some people are born with naturally low-hanging eyebrows.
Raising the eyebrows can make the face seem more awake and youthful.
Botox® can be used around the brow area to create a lifting effect. It prevents the muscles in that area from pushing down on the brows, causing it to sink.
Of course, it would not look natural to have brows that are raised too high. For this reason only a small amount of Botox® should be used in this area to create the lifting effect.
Botox® can be used for more than just wrinkles!
As we’ve seen above, Botox® can be used for more than just wrinkles. It can be used for a lip flip, to temporarily get rid of dimples, to slim the face or to raise the eyebrows. That’s not even to mention that Botox® can be used for things like excess sweating, neck bands, nose lifts and more. Above we’ve only mentioned four areas that can be treated with Botox®, which aren’t wrinkles.
Speak to your doctor or nurse provider to learn more about the different ways Botox® can be used to enhance your appearance.
